Goose Island won me back

Good companies make bad decisions (GI?) and bad companies make good decisions (AB?) - it's just business - relax, have a beer but not for the alcohol unless that's why you're drinking it (sorry I forgot which forum I was on for a second) and put your disposable income where your tastes are.

I hope they buy Bell's next!!!!!! I have read ( never tried) about that beer for years and would love to see it in Connecticut... I think AB/InBev has proven they can make buying a small craft brewery work.

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Highly unlikely. The Bell family just got done purchasing the last shares of the company that didn't belong to them. It is now an entirely Bell family-owned operation. This has been something that Larry Bell has acknowledged he is incredibly proud of.

Highly unlikely. The Bell family just got done purchasing the last shares of the company that didn't belong to them. It is now an entirely Bell family-owned operation. This has been something that Larry Bell has acknowledged he is incredibly proud of.

I dont feel the macro crowd has embraced their regular beers. I hardly ever see their IPA relatively fresh. Its usually at least 6 months old. Honkers and 312 are still beers I enjoy but I dont think the non craft crowd is buying that stuff even though its easy to find now. I went to a store looking for their IPA and they didnt even have it in the cooler. I asked the guy if he had it and went into the back and opened up a box and took a sixer out and handed it to me. It was like 8 months old. Of course I didnt want it. I dont know why if its an IPA why they didnt put in the cooler right away instead of letting it sit in an unopened box.

I wasnt a big fan of Sofie and Matilda but they taste better when aged and I had them fresher so Im not gonna trash them.

This deal brings Anheuser-Busch into uncharted waters...but remember, this is a growth brand and not a failing one. The Brazilianaires who run InBev understand a P&L statement and love when it's as black as GI's Bourbon County Stout. Purchasing and growing this brand allows ABI to reap the dividends of increased sales while (finally) offering those in the distribution system access to the serious (and lucrative) craft beer market.

Yes, InBev is known for their cut-n-slash ownership style...but most of the operations they take over are top-heavy with unnecessary, layer upon layer middle management. (I'm looking directly at St. Louis) Family-run GooseIsland is already lean and mean and turning profits which would make Warren Buffet blush...all they need is additional liquid through expansion.

Am I positive ABI will completely leave the golden Goose alone? Almost. If there are two things this company does well. it's make money and learn from history. (Think Redhook) Again, in Greg's words, "...as we found people who had the money to help us, they all wanted control and we didn’t want to give up control for obvious reasons. Then our friends at Anheuser-Busch, who’ve done a great job helping build our brand, called and said "Let's talk." We said "Before we talk, we want to make sure you know we want to keep brewing in Chicago, management in Chicago, decision-making in Chicago and we want to grow brands and add capacity." And they said "Great, that works for us." They’ve told us they’re committed to us because of who we are."

There is one more component in play...the war over Chicago. The City of Big Shoulders has long been AB's Waterloo, first an Old Style town and now a Miller stronghold. AB has fought and lost a succession of legal battles surrounding distribution rights and owning GooseIsland now gives them a central stronghold in enemy territory.

Greg alludes to this if you peek between the lines, "I sat across the table from Dave Peacock [president of AB USA] and said "Why Goose and not Sam Adams or someone like that?" and he said "We like your beers, brands and innovations, what you’re doing and want to do with beer and food and we like that you’re in Chicago."

Again, am I positive ABI will do this right? The answer is still, "Almost", but with a lot more confidence now that I've had a couple of years to see InBev leadership up close and personal.

I hope they buy Bell's next!!!!!! I have read ( never tried) about that beer for years and would love to see it in Connecticut... I think AB/InBev has proven they can make buying a small craft brewery work.

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That sounds like a strange view... you basically hope the beer industry becomes closer to becoming a monopoly, and less diverse, so that you can get all the beer around the country... I love Juliet, Lolita, Madame Rose, BCBS, and Sofie Paradisi, but I wouldn't want companies to be bought over by the "Evil Giant" just so it would be more convenient to me.

That sounds like a strange view... you basically hope the beer industry becomes closer to becoming a monopoly, and less diverse, so that you can get all the beer around the country... I love Juliet, Lolita, Madame Rose, BCBS, and Sofie Paradisi, but I wouldn't want companies to be bought over by the "Evil Giant" just so it would be more convenient to me.

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And that sounds like a strange view.

The beer industry is on track to have close to 3000 breweries by the end of the next 5 years, and craft beer has been growing 12% annually, during a recession. Despite the "evil giant" (more like uncoordinated and ineffective doofus if you want to characterize ABI by their results) trying to stop them.

My gosh when are folks going to stop repeating ridiculous assertions that are so easily contradicted by a quick look at reality.

And I see nothing wrong with desiring Bells to be purchased by some company who can actually distribute to those who don't get it now. Is there something wrong with wanting as much Bell's Expedition stout as we now get of BCBS?

The beer industry is on track to have close to 3000 breweries by the end of the next 5 years, and craft beer has been growing 12% annually, during a recession. Despite the "evil giant" (more like uncoordinated and ineffective doofus if you want to characterize ABI by their results) trying to stop them.

My gosh when are folks going to stop repeating ridiculous assertions that are so easily contradicted by a quick look at reality.

And I see nothing wrong with desiring Bells to be purchased by some company who can actually distribute to those who don't get it now. Is there something wrong with wanting as much Bell's Expedition stout as we now get of BCBS?

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The industry has been growing more and more, though I believe at some point, years from now, the bubble will burst...

But.. The idea seems selfish in wanting the staple craft breweries that have been making great beer and have been innovative in their time to be bought over by InBev just so you can go to your local shop and pick some up. At which point, might not even be the same beer based on the quantity and more involved in ingredients than the beers InBev has been brewing. There have been many rumblings from brewers and craft industry workers about how InBev conducts its business with bars and distributors around the country, trying to bribe and use illegal inducements to sell their product and not the "little guy's". It's not like they're going to make the whole craft beer world a perfect place. At some point they'll probably buy over another big brewery name, and everyone will keep flip flopping their view.

I always think how many of the people that don't buy say GI anymore, shop at Home Depot, eat TGI Fridays, shop at the chain grocery store and not at the local hardware store, the farmers market or the local burger place....

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I don't have any opposition to Goose Island, but if one of your pals was threatened by a house fire while another friend was drowning in the pool, and you knew you couldn't save both, would you therefore not try to save either? You know, for the sake of consistency?

Goose Island... I can leave em. Since all we have access to (and after talking to the distro will only have access to for the forseable future) is three beers that are well below the competition, I have no idea how good their beer can be. Scores of 74, 84, etc. won't get a beer purchase from me.

All the beers they brew and they send their worst three to a huge market like Florida. Genius!!!

I'm the opposite as most as when AB bought them I had no problems with them, but as the exodus of long-time, experienced GI workers has grown, I've decided to stop buying GI beers. It's very similar to the exodus of AB brewers when they were bought by InBev.

I don't have any opposition to Goose Island, but if one of your pals was threatened by a house fire while another friend was drowning in the pool, and you knew you couldn't save both, would you therefore not try to save either? You know, for the sake of consistency?

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I've got one - Goose Island people shop at Talbots, Harpoon'ers at the army navy store and people who drink Ommegang wear keychains on their belts and put out subversive pamphlets.

If you want to keep beer out of the monopoly then think that craft is a local commodity. While ticking and trying every beer is a great hobby, when the dust settles and you go to buy your six pack; can you choose a local?

I've got one - Goose Island people shop at Talbots, Harpoon'ers at the army navy store and people who drink Ommegang wear keychains on their belts and put out subversive pamphlets.

If you want to keep beer out of the monopoly then think that craft is a local commodity. While ticking and trying every beer is a great hobby, when the dust settles and you go to buy your six pack; can you choose a local?

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I don't follow your analogy, but as to your question, Yes.

I just now returned from the packy where I picked up a sixer of Notch Pils and one of Newburyport Green Head IPA, and a couple Pretty Things bombers. It was an unintentionally homercentric set of purchases, only saved from complete provincialism by the Ayinger dunkel and the Weihenstephaner dunkelweizen singles that also leapt into my basket.

Tell me that they (GI) are not gonna suffer some loss of quality and I wont' believe it. Also how big do you have to get before you decide you can ride roughshod over the environment? or the people who work for you?

I'll leave you with one last image. Sandra bullock and sly stallone (I think) in a movie where every restaurant is taco bell -

I'd just like to know why I can never find any BCBS here in St. Louis. I can easily find everything else that GI makes but not BCBS.

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BCBS is unevenly distributed and demand for it is actually quite haphazard. In D.C. you can still find it on the shelf in a few stores, and I don't mean out of the way places with no traffic either. Most likely demand exceeded supply or there wasn't much demand (and thus supply).

It all evens out though. You guys get quick and frequent access to Sixth Glass and Dark Truth, which I've slowly and painfully discovered are not as easy to get in Boulevard's distribution arc as Missouri, Iowa and Illinois would make it seem....

not trying to get into the whole, "my opinion is more correct than yours" argument, but I though Sofie was awesome! I also hope that with a bit of extra funding, the BCBS won't be as hard to find or trade for.

The industry has been growing more and more, though I believe at some point, years from now, the bubble will burst...

But.. The idea seems selfish in wanting the staple craft breweries that have been making great beer and have been innovative in their time to be bought over by InBev just so you can go to your local shop and pick some up. At which point, might not even be the same beer based on the quantity and more involved in ingredients than the beers InBev has been brewing. There have been many rumblings from brewers and craft industry workers about how InBev conducts its business with bars and distributors around the country, trying to bribe and use illegal inducements to sell their product and not the "little guy's". It's not like they're going to make the whole craft beer world a perfect place. At some point they'll probably buy over another big brewery name, and everyone will keep flip flopping their view.

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Well, I think the slippery slope argument is sort of the argument of those who cannot point to valid observations to make their points.

I am assuming either you didn't read the linked articles, or you somehow feel they are lies. I would welcome Bells to be distributed to my area. I don't care if you dislike the company that accomplishes that or whether you like the company that accomplishes that. Craft beer is doing just fine, either in spite of, or because of, all the "evil doings" of ABI. I don't care who brings me Expedition Stout, Bells, ABI, or someone else, if they can do it like they are doing it with BCBS, which is to say equal quality, equal price as before, with multiple times better distribution. Why you care, or anyone cares, who accomplishes this is beyond me.

Well, I think the slippery slope argument is sort of the argument of those who cannot point to valid observations to make their points.

I am assuming either you didn't read the linked articles, or you somehow feel they are lies. I would welcome Bells to be distributed to my area. I don't care if you dislike the company that accomplishes that or whether you like the company that accomplishes that. Craft beer is doing just fine, either in spite of, or because of, all the "evil doings" of ABI. I don't care who brings me Expedition Stout, Bells, ABI, or someone else, if they can do it like they are doing it with BCBS, which is to say equal quality, equal price as before, with multiple times better distribution. Why you care, or anyone cares, who accomplishes this is beyond me.

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...because I have more care about the ethics and heart put into the things I buy, even if its "just beer". That's why I highly respect the practices of Shaun Hill, Greg Koch and Lagunitas to name a few... I think that's the problem with a lot of America (a lot of people not caring about the ethics or process in the the things they buy or promote) but I'll leave this on the subject of beer. Btw, of course I read the article. It's working out for both parties right now, cool, but my comments were on if this became a trend and the selfishness of the consumer.

I do buy the Barrel Aged beers from GI, because they are quality and are still overlooked by the people who were part of the brewing process before bought over.

...because I have more care about the ethics and heart put into the things I buy, even if its "just beer". That's why I highly respect the practices of Shaun Hill, Greg Koch and Lagunitas to name a few... I think that's the problem with a lot of America (a lot of people not caring about the ethics or process in the the things they buy or promote) but I'll leave this on the subject of beer. Btw, of course I read the article. It's working out for both parties right now, cool, but my comments were on if this became a trend and the selfishness of the consumer.

I do buy the Barrel Aged beers from GI, because they are quality and are still overlooked by the people who were part of the brewing process before bought over.

now onto enjoying the outdoors...

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Well, I also want to get on to other things, but will make one more reply. ABI uses their clout to try to dominate the marketplace. Small breweries are four times as dangerous for the employees of those companies to work in as are large breweries, including some deadly accidents.

Which are the evil breweries again? I guess it all depends on which propaganda movie you have seen most recently. Cheers!

That sounds like a strange view... you basically hope the beer industry becomes closer to becoming a monopoly, and less diverse, so that you can get all the beer around the country... I love Juliet, Lolita, Madame Rose, BCBS, and Sofie Paradisi, but I wouldn't want companies to be bought over by the "Evil Giant" just so it would be more convenient to me.

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There will always be good local beers to drink wherever you go. I love when I go to New Hampshire and drink a beer from one of the many small local breweries. I also feel that when a company like Bell's or Russian River ( which I also would love to try but can't get in ct) wants to expand and grow they should be able to. If that means selling out to "the man" so be it as long as they get it right.

The industry has been growing more and more, though I believe at some point, years from now, the bubble will burst...

But.. The idea seems selfish in wanting the staple craft breweries that have been making great beer and have been innovative in their time to be bought over by InBev just so you can go to your local shop and pick some up. At which point, might not even be the same beer based on the quantity and more involved in ingredients than the beers InBev has been brewing. There have been many rumblings from brewers and craft industry workers about how InBev conducts its business with bars and distributors around the country, trying to bribe and use illegal inducements to sell their product and not the "little guy's". It's not like they're going to make the whole craft beer world a perfect place. At some point they'll probably buy over another big brewery name, and everyone will keep flip flopping their view.

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I work for a AB Distributor and I can tell you this my company DOES NOT bribe anyone. I can't speak for other AB wholesales just the one I work for. If you really want to know why AB/INBEV has been looking into the craft market it is simple. If you took a photo of a 10 door cooler in a package/liquor store 10 years ago it would have been 6 domestic( AB, miller, coors) 1 door import, 2 doors micro (with half that Sam ) and a mikes hard/malt beverages. That same store now has 3 or 4 domestic 1 import and 4 or 5 craft. They want that business it it that simple. I just read somewhere that the craft market is 6% of the beer market but in 10-15 years in will be 12-15%. As Tom Haden told Vito Corleone there is a lot of money in that white stuff ( or craft beer) if we don't get involved one or all of the other five family's will. It won't hurt us today but it will in 10 years. I just think AB/INBEV is looking 10years down the road. Cheers!!!!!!

Definitely agreed with OP -- was on a tour at the Clybourn Brewery in June and you could tell that Inbev basically has nothing to do with what goes on there, they do their own thing and make great brews.

I hate AB-Inbev business practices, but I've been loyal to Goose and Goose's beers for a long time now, and they're still great beers. I, like the OP, was quite skeptical about the takeover at first, but I've been won back by the quality of the brews. I gotta pick my battles, as I can only fight so many. I gotta go w/ethically-produced meat over great brewery owned by a-holes at this point. Especially since my experience at the Clybourne brewpub two weekends ago was FANTASTIC.

While I completely understand supporting the little guys; Matilda, Sofie & BCBS are way too damn delicious to not buy. I've also read about how their product shouldn't be compromised, but funded to make it more widely available. AND, they upped the sizes of their bombers and charged the same price!

You're really not concerned by the the talent leaving? If the people making the beer don't believe in it anymore, why should I?

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Okay one more reply.

I care about whether the beer is fine and can I get it reliably and affordably. That is how I judge a company. If a brewery breaks no laws, and distributes fine beer reliably and affordably to me, that is a company I am in favor of. If the talent leaves (or doesn't leave) and the quality goes down, I stop buying.

Do I wish that large breweries didn't use their clout to try to dominate the market? I guess I do. Do I wish small breweries took safety of their employees more seriously? I guess I do.

Are either of these concerns remotely near to important as concerns I have about thousands of other companies whose policies result directly in the deaths of millions of people, the destruction of nature, and the destruction of the American economy? I will leave that rhetorical.